Can we keep him?
by MommaVanillaBear
Summary: All Stanley wants is for Stanford to be home with him, but when that's not an option an advertisement on the radio catches his attention. Will Stanford allow the new 'member' of the family to stay?


As much as Stanley appreciated the alone time, and silence that the small house offered when Stanford was away, he couldn't help but feel just a tad lonely. Stanley understood all too well that with Stanford's busy schedule of classes and work sessions in the Universities Laboratories that he would have to become accustomed to the evenings of being home alone; despite the twins' effort of playing the radio and having the television on for noise he couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness. All throughout Stanley's life he was accustomed to having other's either around or near him; having shared a bedroom with his twin he found he was almost never alone, and on the rare occasions Stanford was gone, Stanley always had his Mother's singing in the kitchen, and his Father's grumbling in the living room to keep the silence and loneliness at bay.

It was finally on Stanley's fifth night that he finally admitted defeat on trying to stay awake long enough to welcome his twin home; lonely, and a bit broken hearted Stanley made his way up the stairs to their shared bedroom, turning off the lights as he went. Though it was a small two story house it always felt larger to Stanley when Stanford was away at school- the absolute silence from the house making his ears ring painfully whenever he tried to sleep alone- normally the lack of noise never bothered Stanley when they were both home in bed, after all, it was never completely quiet when he had the soft rhythm of Stanford's heartbeat, and the gentle sigh of his twins' breathing to lull him to sleep.

Slipping in between the sheets and the comforter Stanley found himself curling up around Stanford's pillow- the familiar scent of ginger and spices comforting him as he imagined that it was his twin that he was holding onto rather than just his pillow. The room was eerily quiet save for the occasional ticking from the old alarm clock, the shutters drawn in order to keep the light from the street lamps out; for a moment Stanley thought he could hear the front door opening, but after glancing to the clock to see it was just a quarter past eleven he sighed, knowing full well Stanford wouldn't be home till around three and that his imagination was once again playing tricks on him. Pressing a kiss to the pillow Stanley sighed once more, closing his eyes as he willed himself to sleep, knowing that at least in the wee hours of the morning, right before work, he would be able to kiss his beloved before having to leave…

It had a busy day at the bakery when the idea for a 'companion' came to Stanley's mind; the chubby Baker found himself up to his elbows in flour and pastry dough when he heard the advertisement over the radio. Though Stanley had never been much of a listener when it came to radio advertisements or reports, he did however find himself listening intently when he heard about how the animal shelter was quickly running out of housing and food for its various occupants; and Stanley, being the kind hearted man that he was, found himself slowly entertaining the idea of perhaps stopping by to at the very least see what the shelter had to offer. Amidst the rolling of the dough and the forming of the pastries Stanley thought of just what type of pet would be a good fit for both him and Stanford; as much as Stanley would love to adopt a dog he knew it wouldn't work out, he did however think about adopting a cat- after all, cats were both loving and independent.

Chuckling softly to himself Stanley placed the raw pastry puffs onto a baking pan, placing the pan into the walk in cooler before he headed to the sink to clean himself up; perhaps it was a bit sudden, but with the work day finally over and the animal shelter just a few blocks away he made up his mind and decided that he would go. After all, what would be the harm in simply looking?

"Stanford is going to kill me." Stanley groaned as he made his way home, a medium sized cardboard box cradled protectively in his arms. The scratching that came from inside the box stopped as Stanley spoke, only to resume once more when Stanley had finished. However much shame Stanley felt at bringing home the new pet he felt just as much joy- hoping with all his heart that Stanford would fall in love with the new addition to their 'family' just as much as he did. Making his way up the drive way Stanley sighed in relief at seeing the lights off in the windows, knowing that with it being a Thursday evening that he would have a good couple of hours before Stanford would come home.

"I guess it's the perfect time to do a bit of bonding." Stanley chuckled softly to the critter inside the box as he carefully maneuvered the key into the lock, having to resort to using his knee to open the door as he refused to put down the box until he was inside and the door was shut. Flipping on the lights as he went Stanley headed straight up the stairs to the shared bedroom, talking and cooing to the creature inside the box. Stanley couldn't help but smile as he made his way up the stairs and into the bedroom, shutting the door tightly before turning on the bedside lamp. As Stanley placed the box down onto the bed he began to strip himself from his jacket and work clothes, remaining only in his white sleeveless shirt and briefs. Slipping onto the bed he slowly opened the box with nimble fingers, opening the top wide enough for the midnight black creature to peer out.

"Welcome home." Stanley smiled, opening the box's top completely to allow the creature to stand up on its back legs, looking about the room with golden hued eyes before lunging out. For a moment the creature looked about in unease, its nose wiggling a mile a minute before tentatively hopping towards Stanley, its long ears twitching. "It's okay Bill, take your time." Stanley cooed to the bunny, allowing the small creature to come to him by choice rather than force. "Looks like I'm your new Daddy."

The bunny slowly hopped towards the chubby twin, moving to sit in between Stanley's out stretched legs as Bill sat up to peer closely at his new 'Daddy'. With a rather large yawn Bill sat back on his haunches, allowing Stanley to stroke his ears as he climbed up to sit on Stanley's thigh, curling up against Stanley's pudgy belly; his nose twitching as Stanley stroked him to sleep with his soft and pudgy hands…

"Stanley, would you care to explain to me why all the lights are on downstairs if you are-" Stanford stopped mid-sentence as he stood in the door way to the shared bedroom, an eye brow arched as he took in the sight of Stanley asleep on top of the covers with a box at the foot of the bed. Stanford grew even more perplexed however when he glanced at the box again, noticing holes that were neatly punched out on the sides and a few carrots inside half eaten- It was then that Stanford noticed the bundle of black fur that was tucked in the nook of Stanley's folded arms, two golden hued eyes peering out at him. "Stanley, what on earth did you do?!"

Stanley's eyes lazily flickered open, a yawn tearing through him as he slowly sat up from where he was once lying on his side. The bunny glared at the both of them at having been 'rudely' awoken. However Stanley knew an explanation was in order, and as if to prove his point he picked up the small black bunny and held him close, lips tugging in a pout when Stanford repeated his question.

"Stanford, now, I know I shouldn't have brought Bill home-"

"You named it?!" Stanford demanded in anger, arms crossing over his chest as his eyes narrowed, only softening when he witnessed Stanley flinch.

"Now Stanfy, you and I both know you work long hours at the university's lab, I get lonely- and tonight was this little guys last night at the shelter! They were going to put him down if I hadn't had adopted him. Please Stanfy, Bill will be a good little bunny, I promise! After all, bunnies don't make too much mess, and I'll take care of everything he needs!" Stanley found himself near the brink of tears as he pleaded with his older twin, his free hand softly stroking Bill's ears.

Stanford fought back a sigh, a hand running through his hair as he moved to join Stanley on the bed, glancing down at the bunny that seemed to almost glare up at him. "Stanley…I'm not happy that you didn't ask first- but I suppose we could always talk more about this in the morning, it is late."

"You mean it?" Stanley asked enthusiastically.

"Now don't get your hopes up, we'll talk about it, if we can't come to agreement we'll-" Stanford paused when he saw the way Stanley pouted, "All right, all right, he can stay!"

Nearly bursting with happiness Stanley leant to give Stanford a quick kiss on the lips, allowing Bill to hop back towards his box. They would have to go to the pet store in the morning for supplies, but for that moment in time Stanley was just absolutely thrilled to have Stanford in agreement that Bill could stay. Even if it was out of a bit of reluctance, Stanley knew that Stanford would grow to love Bill, or at the very least co-exist with the bunny.


End file.
